As stretch drive beckons, Siena’s growth and upward momentum have come at best possible time

Siena’s resurgence has come at opportune time as Manny Camper and Saints close in on MAAC regular season title. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Siena’s high expectations this season have come with being held to an even higher standard as the Saints traverse the pandemic-altered landscape that began with a unanimous prediction of a Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championship.

Even with nine wins in the first 12 games of a campaign that did not get underway until January 3, head coach Carmen Maciariello has stressed the need to execute even the smallest of minutiae to feed into the belief that was fostered through Siena’s 16-game win streak that bridged last year and this past January, the idea that something special could indeed be brewing in the Capital Region.

As the Saints prepare for a four-game homestand to close out the regular season, beginning Friday against Manhattan, they do so on the heels of a galvanizing win last Sunday at Niagara, a team that appeared to pull off a second straight come-from-behind victory before Manny Camper’s pass to Jackson Stormo for a point-blank layup to salvage a split in western New York, that reinforced just what the common goal has been inside the green and gold walls.

“We’ve been talking about opening up leads, getting it from five to seven, seven to 11,” Jalen Pickett declared as Siena has managed to fend off adversity and close situations with a grit forged by veteran leaders and instinctive fundamental basketball plays. “That’s just another learning experience for us right there, it was a sign of a championship team. When things don’t go your way, can you reset and battle back?”

“It just shows how resilient our team is,” Camper echoed. “We knew how hard the Buffalo trip was going to be after game one. I’m just proud of the growth of our team. We didn’t make excuses about how we were off the three weeks, we didn’t make excuses about the Niagara trip. We just watched film and we responded well.”

Camper, in particular, has been the biggest piece of the puzzle as he builds off a first team all-MAAC junior season. Once again the conference’s rebounding leader with an average of over 10 boards per game, the senior has expanded his repertoire to lead the MAAC in assists as well, while currently ranking fifth in scoring, solidifying himself among the favorites for a Player of the Year honor that would be a fitting coda in the development of a program bedrock that was a seldom-used role player under Jimmy Patsos his freshman year before blossoming under Maciariello’s tutelage.

“We all see how hard he works, and I’ve seen him grow since I got here,” Pickett, last season’s Player of the Year, assessed. “Seeing how great his game has elevated, people have to respect him. He’s a great basketball player and he leads us. I think at this point, for the young guys to keep watching him and watch how much time he puts in with the film and the work off the court, it’s a good sign.”

“In the preseason, I thought I had two guys who could be up for Player of the Year,” Maciariello added. “The type of season Manny’s having and the way he’s stepped up, especially in these games, coming off the pause, I’m happy with the rhythm he’s in.”

Siena as a whole has taken on a similar rhythm, and in a timely fashion as it embarks upon the culmination of what it has worked for. Regardless. Maciariello continues to instill the need to be meticulous in every facet on the way to Atlantic City, a reminder of the steps needed to secure the Saints’ first league championship since 2010.

“These guys need to realize this is a new year,” he stated. “No one’s giving us anything. We have to take every game as an opportunity to get better, and we have to take every game as a chance to realize that everyone wants to beat us. We’re the preseason favorite, and I hate talking about that — it means nothing — but we have to continue to get better. That’s the end of the day, especially now with whatever the seedings are for Atlantic City. You can’t not show up that first game, or you’re going home.”